Monday, April 29, 2019

Through the Keyhole - May 2019

MAY 2019
Through the Keyhole
Take a break from your day...

Not your typical company OR newsletter
Can you guess the location?
"No this is not part of the new STAR WARS LAND in Orlando. However, it is located at one of the most prestigious learning / training institutions in the United States. In this place, freshmen are only allowed to walk on narrow walkways and cannot avert their eyes from looking forward. After a grueling 4 years the graduates often take flight in soaring careers."

Send your guess HERE

Start Building the Arc...
Okay.  It can stop raining any time now...

Pictured here is a replica of Noah's Arc.  It is located outside of Cincinnati, Ohio and has become quite a tourist destination.   Ark Encounter features a full-size Noah’s Ark, built according to the dimensions given in the Bible. Spanning 510 feet long, 85 feet wide, and 51 feet high, this modern engineering marvel amazes visitors young and old. Ark Encounter is situated in beautiful Grant County in Williamstown, Kentucky, halfway between Cincinnati and Lexington and right off I-75.

The family-friendly Ark Encounter theme park near Cincinnati also features a zoo, zip lines, and timber-frame restaurant.  Any way you look at it, the encounter is quite impressive.  Full Site HERE.

Every year, I seem to make the claim that I wish the weather were better and usually talk about a May Pole.  This year, I will embrace the rain and not talk about a silly pole that people dance around.

Instead, let's talk about some of the real things going on in May that we should all care about.

1) Kentucky Derby
2) Indianapolis 500
3) Monaco Grand Prix
4) Preakness Stakes
5) PGA Championship
I will let the pictures do the talking...
Compared to the Indy 500 infield...
Switching GEARS...May Flowers!
Pictured above is Holland, MI just a car ride away from Chicago.  They host a festival every year celebrating the Tulips.  Tulip Time lasts about a week and is May 4 - 12 this year.  The crazy thing is that Holland sees over 500,000 people annually during this time and has been heralded the nation's best flower festival almost every year.  It is a small town celebration that offers some great Americana - Dutch traditional garb with parades, carnival rides, wooden shoes (ugh), elephant ears (the ones you eat), fireworks and of course, tulips...  Site here
 
Guess the Location Game

Last month the winner of the guess the location game was Cindi Bechtel who guessed the right answer.  I appreciate all of the participation.  THANKS FOR PLAYING!
Red Rocks Amphitheatre Denver(-ish), CO - Keyhole Answer
"Pictured here is an amphitheatre 10 miles away from this major American city.  The outdoor venue has seen most major bands throughout the ages and is a terrific place to take in a concert.  The city is home to a few major sports teams that are a mile above the rest.  And the state was one of the first to legalize marijuana."
Red Rocks Amphitheatre is a rock structure near Morrison, Colorado 10 miles west of Denver where concerts are given in the open-air.  The amphitheatre sits at 6450 feet above sea level and has a capacity of 9525 seats. 

The first performance of each season is the Easter Sunrise Service, a non-denominational service on Easter Sunday of each year.

The earliest notable rock-and-roll performance at Red Rocks was by The Beatles on August 26, 1964, the only concert not sold out during their US-tour. When Ringo Starr returned to Red Rocks with his All-Starr Band on June 28, 2000, he asked if anyone in the crowd had been at the Beatles concert thirty-six years earlier.

On August 26, 2004, the East-Coast-based Beatles-tribute band, "1964" was flown to Denver to re-enact the Beatles concert held at the site exactly forty years earlier to the day.

The beautiful and unique setting has led to the venue becoming a favorite for many performers. Jimi Hendrix played at Red Rocks on September 1, 1968, along with Vanilla Fudge and Soft Machine.

The Blues Brothers performed at the amphitheatre on July 15, 1980.

U2 performed at the amphitheatre on June 5, 1983 during their War Tour, in front of a crowd of 9,000 people. The show was filmed for the group's concert film U2 Live at Red Rocks: Under a Blood Red Sky. The show was recorded and part of it was used for the group's live album Under a Blood Red Sky.

Depeche Mode performed at the amphitheatre four times: the first time was July 1, 1986. The second and third were on July 11 and 12, 1990 during their World Violation Tour. The fourth was on August 27, 2009 during their Tour of the Universe, in front of a crowd of 8,679 people. The show was recorded for the group's live albums project Recording the Universe.

Red Rocks was one of the favored venues for The Grateful Dead and the venue has become a traditional stop for many subsequent jam bands. Widespread Panic holds the record for the most sold-out performances at Red Rocks with 57 as June 2018.

Blues Traveler has played the venue every Fourth of July since 1993, except 1999 when lead singer and harmonica player John Popper was unable to play due to heart surgery.

Phish, the most popular jam band of the era, were banned from performing at Red Rocks after they played four concerts there in August 1996. Fans of the band who showed up to the concerts without tickets were accused of starting a riot outside the amphitheater on the second night, and the nearby town of Morrison was unprepared to accommodate the size of the band's following. Phish was not invited to perform at Red Rocks again until July 2009.

Geddy Lee of the rock band Rush said, "It's an amazing location. One of the most beautiful concert venues in America...or anywhere. I would hazard a guess that it's one of the most beautiful anywhere." Rush played Red Rocks on their R30 30th Anniversary, Snakes and Arrows, and Time Machine tours.

Although I have never personally been there, it seems like one of those places a music enthusiast should see a show...
1983 vintage U2 performing at Red Rocks
Red Rocks Drone Footage
A quick video tour of Red Rocks
No Doubt performs Don't Speak in 1996 at Red Rocks
Best Tiger Pic EVER
Mesmerizing Hula Hoop Dance
Eagles fans rejoice.  This girl is amazing.
Look Closely. Why can't she feel it?
Millennial millionaires? Perhaps not
According to LinkedIn...

More than half of U.S. millennials surveyed by TD Ameritrade say that they’ll be millionaires someday, and 20% of them think they’ll hit the $1 million mark by age 40. They may be in for a rude awakening, according to a new paper from Brookings. Median household wealth for the generation in 2016 was 25% lower than those who were at a similar age back in 2007. Growing up in the aftermath of the financial crisis has reduced millennials' long-term earning potential, and ballooning student debt has not helped matters.

Millenials may have inadvertently eliminated retirement for themselves.

Complete Article HERE
In the Wake of the Notre Dame Fire...
Some Beautiful Churches From Around the World
A Church In Reykjavík, Iceland
Church of Saint Gregory of Neocaesarea in Moscow
A Beautiful Church In Kerala, India
A Church In Kizhi, Russia
A Beautiful Church in San Fernando, USA
A Beautiful Church In Frankfurt, Germany
A Church In St. Casimir, Vilnius, Lithuania
Russian Orthodox Church of the Nativity, Erie, Pennsylvania
Las Lajas Sanctuary, Colombia
King's College Chapel, Cambridge
Red and Yellow Make Us Eat
It’s likely that you have heard that the color red makes people feel hungry. Well, it’s true. Research has suggested that appetites are sparked when we see the color red or when we are in red places (as opposed to when we are in blue places, which, for some reason, make us not want to eat as much). But have you noticed how flat out pervasive the color red is in restaurant chains? And have you noticed how frequently it is coupled with the color yellow?  Between red and yellow (often used together), you can account for the logos and color schemes of almost all major restaurant chains.

Consider my quick list of examples: McDonald’s, Arby’s, Wendy’s, Panda Express, Chick-fil-A, KFC, Dairy Queen, Carl’s Jr., Pizza Hut, In-N-Out, Denny’s, Outback Steakhouse, Ruby Tuesday’s, Pei Wei, Bojangles, Popeye’s, Z Teja’s, Texas Roadhouse, Cafe Rio, Moe’s, Qdoba, Smash Burger, Five Guys Burgers and Fries, Taco Time, Taco John’s, TGI Friday’s, Zupa’s, Jack in the Box, P.F. Chang, … and on, and on, and on.

Examples to the contrary? Olive Garden, Taco Bell, and Subway. (Of course there are others, but red and yellow certainly dominate the food chain market).

It’s such a common phenomenon, that some have even labeled it the Ketchup and Mustard theory. The idea is that red and yellow, in combination, make the perfect visual and psychological companionship for making us want to stop and eat.

Red, which we know from research done in color psychology, makes feel warm, comforted, and loved. If a good meal should make us feel the same way, shouldn’t restaurants be using that color? After all, we don’t wan to feel cold (blue) while eating, nor do we necessarily want to feel jealous and fertile (green), evil and sad (black), or even exotic and artificial (purple) when eating our normal dinner. Sure other colors cause emotions that might be nice if attached to dinnertime (green can also make us feel lucky and purple can make us feel wise), but food is usually enjoyed most when it’s warm and when we’re with loved ones. Those two things make us feel comforted and comfortable; red is the best way to do this.

So why yellow? Yellow is cheery and exciting. It also grabs attention (we can see yellow from far distances really well–like those jumbo golden arches). Perhaps most interesting, though, is that research has shown the color yellow has the ability to speed up our metabolism! This means, in theory, when we’re around yellow we burn more calories. Does that make us want to eat more? Someone seems to think so…


A Business Insider Article to back this up HERE
Meanwhile... at work.
Just for FUN
Randomness...
Asian Slaw
 
My wife and I frequently go to this amazing restaurant and winery called Cooper's Hawk here in Wheeling. They have the most delicious Asian Slaw there and it’s usually the highlight of the meal! For a Memorial Day BBQ, I thought I could try to recreate it and bring it to the BBQ!
Slaw:
1 small red cabbage, thinly sliced or shredded
1 small Napa cabbage, thinly sliced or shredded
2 carrots shredded
1 red bell pepper, sliced thinly
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup red onion, minced
Dressing:
1/4 cup sesame oil
2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
1 1/2 Tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 Tablespoon soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 lime, juiced
4 green onions, chopped
1/4 cup slivered almonds
2 Tablespoons sesame seeds
Directions:
1. In large bowl, toss together the slaw ingredients.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together dressing ingredients. Stir into slaw ingredients. Garnish with green onions, peanuts and sesame seeds and serve, or allow a couple hours for flavors to marinade before garnishing. Serves 12 at 1/2 cup each.